Operator-Led Private Equity at Ethos - Erik Brooks
In this Capital Allocators episode, Erik Brooks, co‑founder and managing partner of Ethos Capital, explains how the firm’s operator‑led private‑equity model differs from traditional finance‑driven approaches. By placing seasoned operators at the center of due‑diligence and portfolio management, Ethos believes it can ask sharper questions, extract richer information, and ultimately make better investment decisions. Brooks emphasizes three pillars: a disciplined one‑deal‑a‑year cadence, a focus on durable business models with recurring revenue and high barriers to entry, and a culture built by hiring young talent directly from investment banking and grooming them into long‑term partners. This operator‑centric lens, he argues, yields deeper insights than the typical interrogation style of private‑equity investors and aligns incentives with operational improvement. A memorable quote from the conversation captures the philosophy: “If the questions are better, then the information you’re going to be getting is better.” He also recounts his own journey—from early privatizations in Eastern Europe to value‑investing at Bowpost and a two‑decade tenure at Abri—illustrating how sector expertise and risk awareness evolved into Ethos’s current strategy. The implications are significant for mid‑market private equity: a shift toward operator involvement could improve portfolio performance, reduce reliance on financial engineering, and attract investors seeking sustainable, long‑term returns in an era of rapid technological change.
Never Judge a Decision by Its Outcome – Josh Steiner (EP.502)
The Capital Allocators episode with Josh Steiner explores how personal mistakes differ from professional failures, using his own Whitewater diary scandal as a springboard. Steiner recounts how a youthful habit of keeping impressionistic journals became a legal liability, forcing him...
Disintermediating Pod Shops | Will England, Derek Drummond, and Tony Caruso Ep.501
The episode introduces Docside, a managed‑account platform co‑founded by Walleye Capital’s Will England, Wisconsin’s Derek Drummond, and UTIMCO’s Tony Caruso. By pairing large public‑pension and endowment capital with Walleye’s multi‑manager hedge‑fund infrastructure, the joint venture gives institutional allocators direct, transparent access...
Imagine Getting Asked This in a Job Interview 😅
The video recounts a finance‑team interview that veered from casual bagel chatter to an unexpected, existential question – “How do you imagine yourself dying?” The host explains that while the first 20 minutes were spent bonding over bagels, the final...
Rodney Comegys - The Mechanics of Indexing at Vanguard (EP.498)
In this Capital Allocators episode, Vanguard’s chief investment officer Rodney Kamajis explains how the firm builds and runs some of the world’s largest index funds, overseeing $8.5 trillion in assets across domestic, international and multi‑asset strategies. He emphasizes the original indexing premise:...
Master the 4 Levels of Feedback | ELITE Executive Coaching
The video by ELITE Executive Coaching introduces a four‑level framework for delivering feedback, urging leaders to move from traditional feedback toward lower‑power communication forms. It explains that feedback carries authority and often triggers resistance; advice reduces power slightly; recommendation‑suggestion lowers it...
No Feedback Is the Best Feedback 🤯🤯 #coaching #management #entrepreneur
The video challenges traditional feedback models, arguing that the most powerful insight comes when individuals generate their own critique rather than receiving it directly from a manager. Key tactics include asking open‑ended questions—"How do you think you performed?"—and framing scenarios through...
His Own Ai Disagrees with Him 😳😳
The video introduces Alex, an internal AI coach built on Anthropic’s Claude model and fed with millions of words of the firm’s proprietary content. Unlike public chatbots, Alex has no internet connectivity and draws answers exclusively from this curated knowledge...
Bruce MacDonald – The Playbook for Building a Mid-Sized Endowment From Scratch (EP.495)
Bruce McDonald, CEO and CIO of Virginia Commonwealth University’s $2.5 billion endowment, explains how a five‑person team built a high‑performing portfolio from the ground up. After selling the legacy holdings in 2015, the team deliberately narrowed its scope, shunning private credit,...
Kieran Goodwin – Private Credit Concerns (EP.494)
The episode centers on Kieran Goodwin, partner at Saba Capital, warning that the private‑credit market’s rapid expansion has created structural asset‑liability mismatches that could spark a liquidity crunch and, subsequently, a broader credit squeeze. Goodwin explains how redemption spikes, real...
How Billionaire Spends His Money 🌎🐜 #philanthropy #climatechange
The video spotlights a billionaire who has shifted his charitable focus toward insect conservation, arguing that safeguarding these tiny creatures is essential for climate stability and long‑term economic health. He cites research presented by Harvard’s renowned myrmecologist E.O. Wilson, noting that...
Jeremy Grantham – Bubbles, Value Investing, and the Long Game at GMO (EP. 493)
The Capital Allocators episode features Jeremy Grantham, co‑founder of GMO, discussing his lifelong view of market bubbles, value investing and the current AI‑driven frenzy. Grantham traces his upbringing in wartime Yorkshire, where scarcity bred frugality, to early stock‑picking experiments that taught...
Will Guidara – Unreasonable Hospitality (EP.492)
In this Capital Allocators episode, author and former 11 Madison Park co‑owner Will Guidara explains his “unreasonable hospitality” philosophy – a deliberate, almost obsessive focus on how customers feel, not just what they buy. Guidara argues that most firms pour resources...
Katelin Holloway – Human Side of Venture Investing at 776 (EP.490)
The episode centers on Katelin Holloway, founding partner of 776, a technology‑focused venture firm she launched with Alexis Ohanian in 2020. Drawing on a decade of HR leadership at Pixar, Clout and Reddit, Holloway argues that early‑stage investing is fundamentally...
Gavin Baker – Truth-Seeking and Crossover Investing at Atreides (EP.489)
The Capital Allocators episode spotlights Gavin Baker, managing partner and CIO of Atreides Management, which oversees roughly $7 billion across public, private and crossover strategies focused on technology and consumer sectors. Baker recounts his unconventional path—from a book‑filled childhood and rock‑climbing...